Lesson 4- Making Clay Models Lesson Overview-
This lesson will begin with a review of what they learned in the last three lessons. Earthquakes are caused by movement of Earth’s plates, what plate tectonics is, why oceanic plates are denser then continental plates, and the layers of the earth. Homework will be collected from last class. Students will receive credit for completion and feedback will be given on the assignment. Then the class will get right into partners and begin a lab on plate tectonics. The lab will be explained and the rubric will be reviewed on the overhead. The lab involves the students using modeling clay to create different models of plate movements. The students will complete a lab report which will be scored using a rubric. The last part of the class will be spent classifying their models and connecting them to divergent, convergent, subduction zones and transform boundaries. For homework students will write the conclusion for their lab report. Learning Performances
-Students will propose and design four models to represent four types of plate movements.
-Once they have that complete they will label their models as convergent, divergent, a subduction zone and transform boundary and create a short definition for each.
-Class definitions will be generated after this activity is complete.
-In the conclusion of their lab reports they will relate plate movements to geological features, and earthquakes.
Standards
Materials Needed-
Modeling Clay (enough for each pair of students to make four models)
Cardboard to make the models on
Markers
Overhead
Digital camera
Time required- 95 minutes Instructional Sequence
20 minutes- to collect homework and go over the answers, to review the layers of the
Earth from yesterday’s handout and explain the lab.
60 minutes - to complete lab and classify models.
15 minutes - to answer any questions and make sure students understand their written assignment.
The teacher will take pictures of the four models to copy in a word document and hand out to the class for notes tomorrow.
Introducing Lesson-
Ø Class will open with a review of the homework which will also be collected for homework credit. In the class dscussion students will review their ideas for- "How do plates move in relationship to each other?" Next the teacher will explain the lab., "Class now you will design four plate boundaries from your ideas in clay." When students can work from their own ideas they are more motivated to discover if their concepts are correct.
Ø Next, there will be a quick of review the layers of the Earth from yesterday’s diagram and review the density of the different plates.
Ø The materials will be handed out and the directions will be read out loud so the class understands the lab. Also, the rubric for the lab will be reviewed and left on the overhead so students know exactly what is required of them.
Instruction Activity-
Ø The students will work through the lab that is handed out to them. They will first create a hypothesis of the four types of plate movement. (The lab is designed to be inquiry based so the students don’t know exactly how the plates move.)
Ø Then using the clay they will create their four models and label them using the words provided. They will create a student definition for the four words.
Ø Once everything is labeled and they have their definitions, they will receive the definitions provided by the teacher and they will record any differences in the two definitions in the space provided. They will also label their models for a final time making any necessary changes. For full credit both labels and definitions need to have an initial and final version. Concluding Lesson-
Ø The lesson will end with a class discussion of the models they made. The class will be asked who has a model of each of the different plate movements and one by one the models will be presented to the class for everyone to see. All the models will be displayed but the class will choose the four best models to represent the four types of plate movements.
- The teacher will take a digital photo of these four models. They will be pasted into a word document and given to the students the next class.
Ø Before the end of class the teacher will discuss the directions of the homework so everyone is clear about the assignment.
Assessing Students Understanding-
The students will be assessed on the completion of their lab reports and if they gave support for their conclusion. A rubric will be used to score this assignment. The rubric will be attached to the lab so the students know how they are being scored.
Cautions- Students will have to be responsible and mature dealing with the clay.
Rational- This lesson was designed so students could work and be interactive. One goal of the lesson is for students to propose and create models. Then think critically about everything they have learned to create definitions. They will be able to take what they have learned and apply it to the geological features and earthquakes. This lesson is designed to be a formative assessment. The students will be scored at the completion of their work based on the rubric and they will receive feedback on their written conclusion.
Lesson Overview-
This lesson will begin with a review of what they learned in the last three lessons. Earthquakes are caused by movement of Earth’s plates, what plate tectonics is, why oceanic plates are denser then continental plates, and the layers of the earth. Homework will be collected from last class. Students will receive credit for completion and feedback will be given on the assignment. Then the class will get right into partners and begin a lab on plate tectonics. The lab will be explained and the rubric will be reviewed on the overhead. The lab involves the students using modeling clay to create different models of plate movements. The students will complete a lab report which will be scored using a rubric. The last part of the class will be spent classifying their models and connecting them to divergent, convergent, subduction zones and transform boundaries. For homework students will write the conclusion for their lab report.
Learning Performances
-Students will propose and design four models to represent four types of plate movements.
-Once they have that complete they will label their models as convergent, divergent, a subduction zone and transform boundary and create a short definition for each.
-Class definitions will be generated after this activity is complete.
-In the conclusion of their lab reports they will relate plate movements to geological features, and earthquakes.
Standards
Materials Needed-
Modeling Clay (enough for each pair of students to make four models)
Cardboard to make the models on
Markers
Overhead
Digital camera
Time required- 95 minutes
Instructional Sequence
20 minutes- to collect homework and go over the answers, to review the layers of the
Earth from yesterday’s handout and explain the lab.
60 minutes - to complete lab and classify models.
15 minutes - to answer any questions and make sure students understand their written assignment.
The teacher will take pictures of the four models to copy in a word document and hand out to the class for notes tomorrow.
Introducing Lesson-
Ø Class will open with a review of the homework which will also be collected for homework credit. In the class dscussion students will review their ideas for- "How do plates move in relationship to each other?" Next the teacher will explain the lab., "Class now you will design four plate boundaries from your ideas in clay." When students can work from their own ideas they are more motivated to discover if their concepts are correct.
Ø Next, there will be a quick of review the layers of the Earth from yesterday’s diagram and review the density of the different plates.
Ø The materials will be handed out and the directions will be read out loud so the class understands the lab. Also, the rubric for the lab will be reviewed and left on the overhead so students know exactly what is required of them.
Instruction Activity-
Ø The students will work through the lab that is handed out to them. They will first create a hypothesis of the four types of plate movement. (The lab is designed to be inquiry based so the students don’t know exactly how the plates move.)
Ø Then using the clay they will create their four models and label them using the words provided. They will create a student definition for the four words.
Ø Once everything is labeled and they have their definitions, they will receive the definitions provided by the teacher and they will record any differences in the two definitions in the space provided. They will also label their models for a final time making any necessary changes. For full credit both labels and definitions need to have an initial and final version.
Concluding Lesson-
Ø The lesson will end with a class discussion of the models they made. The class will be asked who has a model of each of the different plate movements and one by one the models will be presented to the class for everyone to see. All the models will be displayed but the class will choose the four best models to represent the four types of plate movements.
- The teacher will take a digital photo of these four models. They will be pasted into a word document and given to the students the next class.
Ø Before the end of class the teacher will discuss the directions of the homework so everyone is clear about the assignment.
Assessing Students Understanding-
The students will be assessed on the completion of their lab reports and if they gave support for their conclusion. A rubric will be used to score this assignment. The rubric will be attached to the lab so the students know how they are being scored.
Cautions- Students will have to be responsible and mature dealing with the clay.
Sources- none
Teaching Resources-
Lab Report
Rubric
Definition handout
Rational- This lesson was designed so students could work and be interactive. One goal of the lesson is for students to propose and create models. Then think critically about everything they have learned to create definitions. They will be able to take what they have learned and apply it to the geological features and earthquakes. This lesson is designed to be a formative assessment. The students will be scored at the completion of their work based on the rubric and they will receive feedback on their written conclusion.